Whistleblower raises concerns about mold, safety issues at Monessen schools ahead of students' return
A whistleblower is sounding the alarm one week before Monessen City middle and high school students are set to return to class after learning remotely for the first eight weeks of school.
Monessen City School District announced it will welcome students back on Nov. 16. The middle-high school building was shut down at the beginning of the school year due to mold.
A former employee at the district talked exclusively with KDKA Investigates, sharing documents and video from inside the school that he said reveal a problem that's been plaguing the school for more than 20 years.
"I've said it to them many times that these buildings should be condemned. Kids should not be in any of them," said Ed Szmed, the former supervisor of buildings and grounds at Monessen City School District.
Szmed took video inside the middle-high school and elementary school on Oct. 20 and 21, exposing the state of the buildings.
School shut down after fungal growth found on building materials
In August, the district shut down the middle-high school due to what the district described as fungal growth on sample water-damaged building materials in four rooms.
Szmed, who started his position at the district six months ago, said he was the reason for the shutdown at the high school and the delayed start at the elementary school.
"Within the last six months, actually three months, I've closed both schools: one for mold, the other one for asbestos," Szmed said.
Szmed's video shows inside every room, exposing mold, along with leaking pipes, toilets and structural problems inside the high school.
He told KDKA Investigates that he's repeatedly reported the issues to the administration.
"That's to now, to this point where I'm at being here with you is I've tried many avenues, many emails, just my experiences, but yet it's fallen on deaf ears," Szmed said.
On the same day that the district announced it would be delaying the start of the school year due to "abnormalities" found inside, documents shared with KDKA Investigates reveal a bid proposal by Bactronix Corp., a Pittsburgh-area environmental testing and restoration company, finding the first-floor boys' rooms, first-floor main area, room M-105 and the gym as "highly contaminated" with mold.
The document described those areas as a "state of emergency."
The report showed six other rooms listed as "in need of action," including the auditorium and the gym.
Szmed shared an email sent to high school staff on Oct. 26, stating that the gym was officially back open for basketball practices. He said remediation was never performed in the gym.
"From your understanding, though, like nothing really has been done in that gym?" KDKA investigative reporter Erika Stanish asked.
"Oh, no, nothing. Because the other thing is, they're trying to push my guys to go in and clean everything, which they're not mold experts," Szmed said.
Superintendent gives KDKA tour
KDKA Investigates took these concerns to the superintendent, Dr. Robert Motte, who invited us inside the school for a tour in the first week of November.
"Our custodians, they were doing the cleaning and some of the ceiling tiles," Motte said.
Motte did not permit KDKA-TV's crew to enter the auditorium during the visit, due to mold killer being sprayed inside, he said. Szmed shared video with KDKA Investigates showing mold on multiple auditorium seats. Motte said the seats would be cleaned after the room was reopened.
"Does the gym have problems?" Stanish asked.
"No. No. They've actually been practicing in there," Motte said.
Motte said the worst of the mold was right across the hall from the auditorium in the concession room. That room is what Szmed and the superintendent referred to as "ground zero."
Motte said the room has since been cleaned up.
"The stuff here was pretty bad, and it was black mold and it was… I think there was something they couldn't identify, so we were pretty concerned," Motte said.
Questions around company hired
Motte said the district hired Alliance Properties Group to complete all the work at the middle-high school.
"They did the remediation, the demo, the renovation, the plumbing. It was one company that had everything we were looking for, and they were able to take care of it all," Motte said.
KDKA Investigates learned that APG is a supply and contracting company based in Connellsville, specializing in flooring, gutters, cabinets and countertops.
According to school board minutes, the board agreed to pay APG $330,446 to remediate mold and repair water infiltration.
KDKA Investigates learned that APG has no mold abatement or remediation certifications.
"Do they have the qualifications for mold remediation?" Stanish asked.
"They do. There was a process for about two weeks that there was a mold specialist here, certified mold specialist, and she was the one that took the mold out, identified it," Motte said.
We asked Motte and APG who that mold specialist was. Motte sent us two certificates for a Mold Awareness Course that was apparently completed by two employees at Ritenour and Sons on Aug. 27, 2026.
Szmed said Ritenour and Sons is a general contractor based out of Connellsville. According to online records, the company has an asbestos remediation certification.
KDKA Investigates reached out to several local mold remediation companies who said mold and asbestos remediation certifications are not the same.
According to the company that provided the mold awareness certification, GST Environmental, the mold awareness course takes two hours to complete. GST said the course provides background on mold, how workers can protect themselves and some remediation practices.
GST said more in-depth courses are available, but their company does not offer them.
According to its website, GST Environmental offers lead and asbestos courses.
Motte said Ritenour and Sons was subcontracted by APG to complete mold remediation work.
KDKA Investigates asked Motte how the district chose APG for the work.
"At first, it was an emergency situation, so we just contacted them right away, and they were ready to go, because we were thinking, 'Oh, my God, take care of this now before school starts.' But then we did get bids, and then eventually they were the lowest bid," Motte said.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, a licensed and certified commercial mold remediation company should be hired for mold remediation inside a school. The EPA said districts should never rely on in-house maintenance or general handymen for anything larger than a minor, localized issue.
"Cleaning is part of remediation, but remediation is getting to the root cause of the problem, so even if they come in, all this stuff is not being addressed to the root cause, and pretty much everything is going to go back to moisture," Szmed said.
Plumbing in part blamed for moisture
Szmed said the moisture in the building is coming, in part, from the toilets. He said water from every flush goes directly behind the walls instead of into the pipes.
"Water and pretty much all, out of the 36 bathrooms that they do have, the toilets are leaking behind the walls or onto the floor," Szmed said.
"The last couple days, the plumbers are tweaking things," Motte said during a tour with KDKA Investigates.
On Sept. 18, a mold assessment and limited post-remediation report by Corwin Inspections LLC, an asbestos and environmental inspections company that was hired to do the testing, indicated that at least 13 rooms came back with fungal growth consistent with prolonged moisture exposure and one with significant airborne mold.
Motte told KDKA Investigates that all the mold in the building has been removed and the plumbing has been repaired.
"That's why they're fixing some plumbing. So, that was some, the flush valves were in need to be replaced. So, we replaced all those, which, it's not just like two or three bathrooms in your house. It's like 18," Motte said.
During the tour, Motte began to take KDKA-TV's crew into a men's bathroom before shutting the door and walking away while saying, "Sorry, that one isn't finished yet."
Motte then took KDKA Investigates into a classroom that Szmed said he warned the district about, where he said a steel beam is twisting, causing a wall to buckle.
"Is that maybe why there's a crack on the wall?" Stanish asked.
"Yes, correct. I was just going to say that. Good eyes. If you see the corner's cracked, it's because the ground is shifting outside," Motte said.
"So has the work been done?" Stanish asked.
"It has not," Motte said.
"But kids will still be in this room?" Stanish asked.
"Yep. Yes," Motte answered.
He said the school was built in 1996 on top of pyrite.
"From my understanding, and again, not confirmed, this was a landfill. Like they filled this all in, and then they built on top of it. Maybe I shouldn't say that. That is probably why things are shifting," Motte said.
According to the latest letter sent to parents at the end of October, a structural engineer confirmed that "all structural issues have been resolved."
The letter made no mention of the original mold problem that shut down the school.
"Neglect after neglect"
KDKA Investigates asked Motte for the latest post-remediation report completed at the middle-high school. He sent KDKA-TV paperwork from Corwin Inspections LLC that was dated Sept. 18.
Motte sent KDKA Investigates video of what appears to be remediation work inside the middle-high school being done on Oct. 6.
According to mold remediation experts, there are three crucial steps to remediation. The first step is to stop the moisture and humidity problem. The second is to make sure the environment is completely dry, and then you can complete the third step of remediating and eliminating toxins.
"We stopped the high school from going in because we had airborne mold in two spots. We had airborne mold in the elementary center, but yet kids are allowed to go in," Szmed said.
"What's the difference there?" Stanish asked.
"I have no idea," Szmed said.
Elementary students returned to the classroom in September, three weeks after a limited mold screening report in selected areas of the school. The findings forced the library to be closed off entirely.
Szmed said this is nothing new, pointing to an AHREA report from over 20 years ago.
"You said some of the reports that you found from 2003 are still problems in the elementary school today?" Stanish asked Szmed.
"Yes, which would be the moisture. They found mold and stuff in the library back then with water leaks. Water leaks are still there," Szmed said.
An AHREA inspection is a federal requirement under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act mandating all public schools with previously known asbestos materials to have an inspection every three years.
Szmed said the last known report is from 2006.
"There's been neglect after neglect in this entire school district," Szmed said.
The 2003 investigation found mold on the carpet and walls of the library, restricting access to the room 23 years ago.
A letter shared with KDKA Investigates documents that it was sent to the district in 2012 by Microbac Laboratories as a reminder for the district to reinspect.
"When was the latest report done in there?" Stanish asked Motte.
"That probably hasn't been done since then. That's a problem we are trying to correct. It's definitely something that needs to be done with what's going on, but it's a problem that needs corrected. So, and, we contacted the right people for that," Motte said.
Elementary documents also shared with KDKA Investigates are reports from former teachers with environmental concerns in 2003, with one stating she'd been hospitalized six times with pneumonia since 1999 due to a respiratory condition.
"That's the big thing about mold. If you already have preconditioning, it'll make it worse. Like if you're going through chemo, it's harder because your immune system's already suspect, and then you know mold might not do anything to me or you, but the next person, they could end up in the hospital on, you know, life support system because it attacks our body," Szmed said.
Whistleblower resigns over concerns
In August, Corwin Inspections LLC recommended that all stained or water-damaged ceiling tiles in the building be replaced, as well as correcting the cause of elevated moisture or blistering paint on the walls.
Video shared by Szmed of the inside of the elementary school in late October shows otherwise.
"They've been kicking this can for a long time, and there ain't nothing left in the can," Szmed said.
Motte said now that work is near complete in the high school, their focus will shift to the elementary school, where he said only surface mold remains.
"Was at any point the entire school inspected and tested for mold problems?" Stanish asked Motte.
"Yeah, we had the same company go down there and test. They took swabs down there too," Motte said.
"Did they do it in every room though, or just maybe problem rooms?" Stanish asked.
"Probably problem rooms at this point. But again, where they see it, it originates. It builds, goes from there. So, if we kill the, I guess, the head of the snake, it's not gonna, you know…" Motte said.
Szmed resigned from his position the day before Halloween, citing ongoing safety concerns at the district.
He shared his resignation letter with KDKA Investigates:
"After careful consideration, I have decided to resign because of ongoing concerns about building safety, maintenance, and the timely resolution of identified deficiencies. Protecting the health and safety of students and staff is central to my professional commitment. These concerns prevent me from continuing in this position."
Motte told KDKA Investigates on Nov. 5 that a moisture test was expected to be done in rooms inside the high school on Nov. 6. KDKA-TV is still waiting for those results.